My name is Matt. In terms of PC building i am a complete newbie. And this will be my first ever attempt at building.

I do have a fair knowledge on what each piece does. However the only thing im not %100 confident with is installing the PSU an linking up all the correct leads so my computer works.

I have always wanted to build my own machine and have a real sence of pride once i manage it, i have been wanting to do this since the age of 14. im now 22.

I have now ordered my complete System. but i do have a few worries after reading some reviews that i could lead to some problemsthe first thing would be the CPU Cooler size with the case. after ordering i found out the Fractal case requires a small cpu cooler. is the Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 Pro CPU Cooler suitable (I have already orderd it mind)

As a first time build. I didnt want to go spending lots and lots of money. so i kept it quiet simple. But believe i have a low end gaming/standard destop machine

Welcome to SPCR. I don't want to come across as harsh...but I had to take another look at the posting date to make sure we weren't in a time warp. The CPU is three years old and the gfx card is ancient (introduced in 2006)...If you do nothing else, return the graphics card unopened. If you tell us your monitor resolution and the games you'd want to play, we can help you find a better gfx card that will use a lot less power, be quieter, faster and still not a lot of $'s. ....and if you happen to have buyers remorse about any of the other components, we can provide alternatives.

Here's a Fractal Core 1000 review with the various clearances. 150mm for the CPU cooler. The Arctic Pro should easily fit.

Consider Win7 as it's head and shoulders above XP and MS will stop supporting XP next year.

Thanks for the intro and I understand some of the pc is dated. I recently got my own flat and stuff so money is sharp as i have gone from living with my parents being basicly rent free. to renting my own flat, paying food shopping gas and so on (Im strapped for cash)

1. Grahpics card & CPU are two items i already have (I didn't buy them i am reusing them because i have no money at this moment in time)

2. I brought a 500w Psu because i plan to upgrade this in the future (Both cpu and G-card) Which is why also i brought that motherboard which supports up to 6 core fx's and up to 16gb 1333 ram (Which is the most i'll ever need because i dont have time for pro serious gaming anymore)

I was looking for some comf that the bits i have added to my setup will work. This set up is only to get me through till January. By which time i will be looking to spend £300-400 $530-630 on upgrades.

Thanks for the clarification. It should all work together. I don't know what model of OCZ PSU you have other than the wattage - so, can't comment on whether it's great or not. Every connector is pretty specific to a certain function..if you you at the plugs, it'll be fairly obvious what fits where. The cooler will run about the same temps as the stock AMD cooler, but should be noticably quieter. I would have opted for DDR3 1600 RAM...but 1333 should be good enough. 4GB is fine..if/when you upgrade to a 64-bit OS, then you can consider 8GB...in truth, you can probably get away with 4GB for most gaming needs. In the long run, take a look at some comparative benchmarks and decide how much CPU you want to get. While the 6 cores look nice, most games only use 2-4 cores.

PSU: Not the most efficient (not 80+ rated), nor the quietest (or loudest), or the best ripple, but it's cheap.

Mobo: Micro ATX + AM3+ as a search at Newegg doesn't bring up any of the "current" gen 9xx mobos. Hmm. Amazon, either. Looking at Asus website...no 9xx Micro-ATX boards for AM3. Same for MSI and Gigabyte. Looks like the latest you can get for Micro ATX from the big three is the 880G chipset.

Maybe one the fervent AMD followers can chime in and provide a suggestion for a great 880G board. I just haven't tracked them since they first came out. I guess I'm firmly in the Intel camp at the moment for gaming as a $100 dual core i3 can match the performance of a $100 AMD CPU.

If this mobo suits your budget, i suppose you'll find no really better model. Main caveat seems to be only SATAII, but as being a budget build i think this one will do nicely. As a plus you'll get USB 3.

ASUS M5A78L-M board looks good...at least it has all solid, NO crappy/junk capacitors! Appears to be no option for case/front USB3 ports however, if that's an issue. FWIW: "future proof" is relative...are you planning to keep for 5+ years?

Regarding an SSD upgrade...even utilizing what some feel is now a lowly interface (SATA2) it will still beat ANY hard drive for overall performance. REAL SPEED will be found in x4 PCIe SSD, but likely beyond your budget for now & you'd have to use x16 slot (if even bootable?) sacrificing a graphics card.

You could later upgrade to mSATA SSD with x1 PCIe controller/interface card, which gives you (500 MB/s)...close to SATA3 speed (600 MB/s) while keeping board you've chosen. This option also eliminates data/power cables.

RAM @ 1333MHz is maximum speed (without overclocking) for ASUS M5A78L-M, so that's okay...unless you can get 1600+ for no extra cost?

GREAT to find someone that realizes AMD is a fine option and willing to support them!

I still wish anyone would make a mATX AM3+ mobo with SATA3 and front USB3 ports. But i fear it's not going to happen, all those mobos out there have SB710 or are made in ATX format.

So this means to me AMD does not want me to buy AM3+ CPU. AMD wants me to buy FM1/2 CPUs. But honestly, why should i go with an APU (i'll be adding a GPU-Card anyway) that is being beat in single thread performance by any IB Pentium at a comparable price?

As i said somewhere before, i own a Sharkoon Rush cube case with C2D 2.5 GHz and a 4670 silent cell. So in order to upgrade this one to modern times (read: play WoW on full 1080p with eye candy turned up) i'd need to swap everything except PSU and Case.

But going AMD and not wanting to pay for an APU leaves me out of the race, because there is no decent modern AM3+ mATX mainboard, as far as i have gathered.

Yuk, that one's NASTY (IMO of course). Unless you can get it CHEAP or free, I wouldn't bother.

Why is it NASTY? No DVI (but you're getting a card) only 2 RAM slots (fine, if that's all you'll ever need) measly 4 USB on back & NONE are 3.0 (your call) reduced audio outputs (if you care) AND 2 ancient/legacy connectors, which I'd guess almost no one even needs anymore.

The other board (ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3) is WAY better, especially if you'll keep it for several years...

[BTW thanks to you, I've decided to buy that one for myself! :) Will do me just fine until FM2+ rolls out & matures over the next couple years]

You're doing it right by slow and steady. And I still always assume that for whatever reason nothing will happen the first time I press the power button on a newly build system. That doesn't occur often but that way I'm less irked if it does. Forgetting the I/O shield is something I've done a couple of times, irritating as hell.

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